Lions rally to beat Shiloh in regular-season finale

Linton- HMB’s Mason Ryckman (35) tallied 7 points and 4 rebounds against Shiloh Christian. Linton-HMB used an 18-4 run to erase a 9-point deficit in the second half, and the Lions held on for a 52-49 victory over Shiloh Christian in Linton on Feb. 8. The victory was the 13th in the last 14 games for Linton-HMB, which closed out its regular season slate with a 15-4 record. Shiloh Christian fell to 13-5 with the loss.

Both defenses were stellar throughout the game, and even though Linton-HMB had trouble scoring right away, Tyler Humann and Brooks Flyberg connected on back-toback three-pointers to give the Lions their biggest lead of the first half (8-4) with 2:20 left in the first period. However, Blake Emmel closed out the period with a pair of three-pointers to give Shiloh a 12-11 edge at the end of the frame.

Three-pointers by Walter Bearstail and Donovan Lambert to start the second quarter capped a 12-1 run that extended Shiloh’s lead to 18-11 just 30 seconds into the frame, but Linton-HMB answered with a 12-4 run over the next 3:28, and Humann’s basket off a steal and assist by Andrew Small gave the Lions a 23-22 lead midway through the period. The lead changed hands three times over the next minute before Lambert put in a field goal to put the Skyhawks back in front to stay (26-25) for the rest of the half.

Andrew Small ( 1) of Linton-HMB netted 8 points and 3 steals in a 52-49 win over Shiloh Christian. Bearstail added a threepointer, and Andrew Hartman followed with a free throw to extend the lead to 30-25 with 1:42 left in the period, but Small knocked down a threepointer for Linton-HMB, and after Hartman answered with a basket on the other end, Small came up with a steal in the waning seconds and turned it into a lay-up at the buzzer to cut the lead to 32-30 at the break.

Linton-HMB shot 60 percent (9 of 15) from the field during the second quarter, and the Lions went 13 for 23 (57%) from the field in the first half. The Lions, however, attempted just 2 free throws and turned the ball over 10 times in the half. Shiloh shot a sizzling, 63 percent (12 of 19) from the field in the first half, including 5 three-pointers, but the Skyhawks committed 13 turnovers in the half. Emmel and Bearstail each hit a pair of three-pointers and scored 8 points apiece to lead Shiloh, while Humann scored 9 points in the half for Linton-HMB.

After trading baskets to start the second half, Lambert went on a personal 7-0 run over a one minute span, and his field goal off a steal gave Shiloh its biggest lead (41-32) with 5:28 left in the third period. However, the Skyhawks misfired on their next 6 field goal attempts and turned the ball over a half dozen times over the remainder of the period, and Linton-HMB would get back to within striking distance by the end of the period.

Shiloh went scoreless for over 4:00, while Linton-HMB got baskets from Mason Ryckman and Ryan Schneider, and triple from Small (all about a minute apart) to cut the lead to 41-39 with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Chad Coulter finally ended Shiloh’s drought with a basket at the 1:15 mark, and neither team scored the rest of the frame, leaving the Skyhawks with a 43-39 advantage with one quarter left.

The Lions totally shut down Shiloh’s offensive attack during the final quarter, and held the Skyhawks scoreless for over 4:00 to start the frame. Jon Purintun’s free throws cut the lead in half (43-41) with 6:27 left, but the Lions squandered several opportunities to tie the game, before Ryckman put in a field goal at the 4:15 mark to cap an 11-2 run which finally deadlocked the score at 43-43. Lambert finally ended Shiloh’s drought and put the Skyhawks back in front with a field goal on the ensuing trip, but Shiloh went scoreless for another 3:22, and that would mark its final lead of the game.

Ryckman tied the game with a short-range basket on the next trip, and then Travis Baumiller hit the front end of a bonus free throw attempt to put Linton-HMB ahead for good (46-45) with 2:47 left. After Linton-HMB misfired on a bonus free throw attempt, and Shiloh came away empty on the other end, Schneider dropped in a field goal to extend the lead to 48-45 with 1:45 remaining. Baumiller picked off a deflected pass on Shiloh’s ensuing possession, and then the Lions ran the shot clock all the way down, before Flyberg beat the buzzer with a jumper from the left side of the lane to cap a 7-0 run, which gave Linton-HMB a two-possession (50-45) lead with :47 left.

After Aaron Yellow Wolf got Shiloh on the board with a field goal, Linton-HMB broke through the Shiloh press, and Schneider got the ball down low and scored while being fouled. Schneider missed the free throw, but his basket made it a two-possession lead (52-47) with just :16 left, and Shiloh wouldn’t score again until Lambert put back an offensive rebound at the final buzzer.

Linton-HMB shot just 38 percent (9 of 24) from the field in the second half, but the Lions hit 5 of their final 6 shots from the floor, and sank 3 of 6 free throws in the final quarter to make up the margin of victory. For the game, Linton-HMB shot 47 percent (22 of 47) from the field, and hit 4 of 8 free throws. The Lions committed 16 turnovers, but held a slim, 25-23 advantage in rebounds, with the difference coming on a 9-7 margin on the offensive glass. Shiloh Christian hit on just 8 of 24 (33%) field goals in the second half, and the Skyhawks did not make a single three-pointer over the final two quarters. For the game, the Skyhawks hit on 20 of 43 (47%) field goals, and attempted just one free throw the entire second half to finish 4 of 5 from the line. Shiloh also committed 21 turnovers in the game.

Schneider led Linton-HMB with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Humann finished with 9 points, and Small tallied 8 points and 3 steals. Flyberg (2 assists, 2 steals) and Ryckman (4 rebounds) scored 7 points apiece, and Baumiller chipped in 5 points, 2 steals and 2 assists for the Lions. Lambert led all scorers with 16 points, while Bearstail and Emmel, who were each held scoreless in the second half, finished with 8 points apiece for the Skyhawks.